Listen for the Wind
by CPegasus
Summary: AU- Sasame did not return from the dead, and Hayate had to die to save Himeno. now, the Pretears of the past and present must learn to live without their most cherished Knights


Hello Pretear fans! Hope there are more of us than there are Wedding Peachers, because my stuff over in that section is in dire need of visitors...anyway. I've (finally) finished watching the Pretear anime, and I decided to write a fic spanning a few things I wanted to write about. Thus, this is a reflection/getting over a loss/newfound friendship/love lasting after death fic. This is kind of AU (alternate universe); Sasame didn't come back to life and Hayate died to save Himeno. Enjoy!

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Listen for the Wind 

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Himeno Awayuki would never be Pretear again. Takako's threat was gone, and by the time a new Princess of Disaster came around, Himeno would be long gone. There was no longer any need for Himeno's powers.

But that wasn't the reason.

"Himeno?" She looked down at Shin, who had been pulling on her sleeve for a while. "Himeno, are you okay? Are you sad?"

Himeno jumped up from her chair in the garden with a giant smile. "Don't worry, Shin! I'm great!"

"That's not what Kei said." Himeno froze in her chipper, happy position. "He said you were really sad."

_Oh no, of course Kei noticed..._ "Don't worry, Shin, really," Himeno said, patting him on the head. "I'm fine." She started to walk away. She wanted to find a place where she could be alone.

Himeno came to a bridge over a small river somewhere in her backyard. Even now, she still got lost in her house, and this was a place she hadn't seen before. It was quiet and beautiful. Himeno stood there for a while, and then the wind began to blow. After holding it back for so long, Himeno dissolved into tears.

_Hayate...._

Himeno Awayuki would never be Pretear again. She would never be able to Pret with anyone besides Hayate, the Knight of Wind. When he had been alive, Hayate was the one it felt the best with. He was the one she loved. He had given up his own life to bring her back after their last fight...it still hurt to think about it. Himeno hugged her chest, trying to squeeze out the pain. After that last fight, no one but Hayate could ever pret with her again.

"Oh, Himeno," She looked up, trying to hide her tears. Takako stood at the edge of the bridge, a small bouquet of white roses in her hands. "I didn't think anyone would be here..."

Himeno wiped her face with a sleeve. "I'm sorry, I can leave if you want me to."

"No, no, not at all," Takako replied, surprised. "If anyone leaves, it'll be me."

"You can stay." Himeno smiled at Takako, and looked back out over the running water. Takako walked across the bridge, standing next to Himeno and looking at the roses in her hands. There was a long, thoughtful pause

"You're so nice, Himeno."

"Hm?"

"Why are you so nice to me?" Takako started to cry. "After all I did...after what happened when we fought..."

"It wasn't your fault, Takako-"

"Yes it was!" Takako wailed. "It was all my fault! It's my fault...IT'S MY FAULT HE DIED!" Takako fell to the floor of the bridge, weeping. "I KILLED BOTH OFTHEM!"

"Takako..."

"Sasame..." she whispered. "Sasame, Sasame Sasame.... He never knew...I never knew..."

Tears welled up fresh in Himeno's eyes. "Takako...don't cry..." water once again ran down her cheeks. "I'll start crying...too..." Himeno threw her arms around Takako, enveloping her in a hug.

"Why are you so nice!?" Takako asked, pushing Himeno's hand away. "I...I killed Hayate too!" Takako broke into fresh sobs. Himeno, for once in her life, couldn't think of anything to say. Both girls sat together in silence for a few minutes, crying.

"He...he never knew...not until the end..." Takako said between sobs. "He never knew I loved him...He thought I didn't care..."

"That's not true," Himeno insisted. "He knew the whole time. And he knows he helped you come back to the way you were..." Himeno trailed off. "But.... Hayate...he never knew..." Himeno stopped and sniffed. "But wh-what good is it to cry?" Himeno looked at Takako, and smiled through her tears. "He wouldn't want me to cry. And Sasame wouldn't want you to cry, either."

Takako turned her face away.

The wind blew through the trees again, singing through Takako's long hair and the tall grass by the river. Himeno looked up, and the wind strengthened, drying the wet tear trails on her cheeks.

"Hayate..." Takako looked up again. "I know he's watching over me. I can feel the wind." Himeno closed her eyes and brought her hands to her heart. "He is the wind. He's hugging me right now. Listen, Takako."

"Sasame...my Sasame was the Knight of Sound..."

"That's right! What do you hear?"

Takako closed her eyes and listened all around her.

"I hear...I hear the birds...flies...I hear the water...the wind..."

"Everything that has Leafe."

"Right...Everything..."

"Sasame is part of all that."

"I hear the birds," Takako said again. "They....they're singing to me...Sasame is singing to me." A shaky smile spread across Takako's lips.

Himeno closed her eyes as well, and listened to the wind. "Hayate says it'll be okay."

"Sasame says he'll keep me safe..."

"They'll never really leave us, Takako. Not as long as they're here," Himeno kept one hand on her own heart, and picked up one of Takako's thin hands. Himeno placed Takako's hand over Takako's chest.

Takako was still holding the white roses in one hand. She stood up now, and threw them into the water.

"Sasame...if I could, I'd give them to you...But the water and the wind and everything with life...that's all you- no. That's **everything** you are now."

Himeno caught a leaf out of the air and kissed it, leaving the faintest trace of strawberry lip gloss on it and throwing it back into the air.

"I love you, Hayate."

"I...I love you, Sasame."

The two girls stood next to each other in silence for a while, allowing the answering rush of wind and sound to envelop them.

Himeno broke the silence first. "Come on Takako, the others will be wondering where we are." Himeno stuck her hand out, and Takako took it with a shaky smile.

And with that, the two Pretears, bereft of their two most precious Knights, took their first steps to recovery, just by knowing to listen for the wind.


End file.
